July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Battle of the border (02/03/07)
JCHS/FRHS boys basketball
Battle of the border (02/03/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
Everyone knows the history.
In the 10-year-old boys basketball border war between Fort Recovery and Jay County, seven games have come down to the final possession.
The Patriots have won all the blowouts, including their last two home games, as their three victories in the series have come by an average of nearly 13 points. But when it has been close, the Indians have always come out on top.
The Tribe's seven wins over Jay County have come by a grand total of 12 points - none of them has been decided by more than three. They included the one-point thriller a year ago at Fort Site Fieldhouse, a venue where the Patriots have never won.
"It's just the closeness of the schools and the communities and having family members on both sides," said Fort Recovery coach Brian Patch, a JCHS graduate. "That makes it a rival game."
"I think sometimes it just ends up that whoever ends up with the ball at the end hits the shot. I guess we've been lucky enough to be the ones to hit some of those shots."
The series renews again tonight at 6:30 p.m. on the Indiana side of the boarder, where Jay County has won the last two meetings.
"It's just a big rival," said Patriot coach Craig Teagle. "The kids know each other ... All those families have connections back and forth. Since I've been here I don't think we've played to anything that wasn't a full house. ...
"To me it's like a tournament game. ... As a player I can't imagine playing in a game during the regular season that is any more fun or exciting than this game."
This year's game sports two teams with winning records, although they've come to them from different directions.
Jay County (11-3) is coming off the best season in school history, which saw the team make a run to the 2006 Class 3A state championship game.
Corey Comer and Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman, both seniors, lead the Patriots. Comer is the top scorer and rebounder at 12.4 and 5.6 per game respectively, while Bruggeman averages 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds to go along with 65 assists and 28 steals.
Sophomore guard Billy Wellman adds 10.1 points per game, and senior guard Rhett Retter scores 7.3. Junior forward Clint Muhlenkamp averages 5.2 rebounds and anchors a defense which allows just 43.5 points per game and 36 percent shooting.
"They have a balanced attack with Corey inside and then Scott," said Patch. "And then they have Retter and Billy outside. Then Clint comes in and does the dirty work for them. They play really hard and obviously they're really well-coached.
"We're going to have to be able to rebound and do a pretty good job of defending the post.
"We've just got to put some ball pressure on our guards and do different things to try to give them different looks inside. We need to make it difficult for them to get catches inside - things that we've been having to do all year long."
The Indians (9-5) won just eight games a year ago and finished 0-9 in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
With a lack of height this year, Fort Recovery has gone to more of a run-and-gun style and has six players averaging at least 7.3 points per game.
Leading that group is junior Clint Tobe at 14.5 points, and freshman Greg Kahlig is also in double figures at 10.4. They are followed by Aaron Kahlig (9.8), Toby Metzger (8.2) and Tony Diller (7.3).
Metzger is the top passer with 66 assists, but also grabs the most rebounds (5.9 per game) from his point guard position. Tobe and Kahlig follow him in rebounding at 4.7 and 4.1 per game.
"They spread the floor really well, and they kind of play different than what we've seen in the past," said Teagle. "Typically they've been more of a half-court type team and this year they're getting up-and-down the floor a lot more, they look for the three a lot more. ...
"In the past it seemed like they always had at least one player inside that we struggled with because of their strength and their size."
While their 2005-06 seasons were in contrast to each other, the state-line rivals have followed similar paths this year.
The Patriots opened with six straight wins, lost three out of four and have now won five straight.
Fort Recovery started 6-1 and was getting votes in Ohio's Division IV poll, dropped four straight and has now bounced back with three consecutive wins before falling Friday night at St. John's.[[In-content Ad]]
In the 10-year-old boys basketball border war between Fort Recovery and Jay County, seven games have come down to the final possession.
The Patriots have won all the blowouts, including their last two home games, as their three victories in the series have come by an average of nearly 13 points. But when it has been close, the Indians have always come out on top.
The Tribe's seven wins over Jay County have come by a grand total of 12 points - none of them has been decided by more than three. They included the one-point thriller a year ago at Fort Site Fieldhouse, a venue where the Patriots have never won.
"It's just the closeness of the schools and the communities and having family members on both sides," said Fort Recovery coach Brian Patch, a JCHS graduate. "That makes it a rival game."
"I think sometimes it just ends up that whoever ends up with the ball at the end hits the shot. I guess we've been lucky enough to be the ones to hit some of those shots."
The series renews again tonight at 6:30 p.m. on the Indiana side of the boarder, where Jay County has won the last two meetings.
"It's just a big rival," said Patriot coach Craig Teagle. "The kids know each other ... All those families have connections back and forth. Since I've been here I don't think we've played to anything that wasn't a full house. ...
"To me it's like a tournament game. ... As a player I can't imagine playing in a game during the regular season that is any more fun or exciting than this game."
This year's game sports two teams with winning records, although they've come to them from different directions.
Jay County (11-3) is coming off the best season in school history, which saw the team make a run to the 2006 Class 3A state championship game.
Corey Comer and Scott "Scooter" Bruggeman, both seniors, lead the Patriots. Comer is the top scorer and rebounder at 12.4 and 5.6 per game respectively, while Bruggeman averages 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds to go along with 65 assists and 28 steals.
Sophomore guard Billy Wellman adds 10.1 points per game, and senior guard Rhett Retter scores 7.3. Junior forward Clint Muhlenkamp averages 5.2 rebounds and anchors a defense which allows just 43.5 points per game and 36 percent shooting.
"They have a balanced attack with Corey inside and then Scott," said Patch. "And then they have Retter and Billy outside. Then Clint comes in and does the dirty work for them. They play really hard and obviously they're really well-coached.
"We're going to have to be able to rebound and do a pretty good job of defending the post.
"We've just got to put some ball pressure on our guards and do different things to try to give them different looks inside. We need to make it difficult for them to get catches inside - things that we've been having to do all year long."
The Indians (9-5) won just eight games a year ago and finished 0-9 in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
With a lack of height this year, Fort Recovery has gone to more of a run-and-gun style and has six players averaging at least 7.3 points per game.
Leading that group is junior Clint Tobe at 14.5 points, and freshman Greg Kahlig is also in double figures at 10.4. They are followed by Aaron Kahlig (9.8), Toby Metzger (8.2) and Tony Diller (7.3).
Metzger is the top passer with 66 assists, but also grabs the most rebounds (5.9 per game) from his point guard position. Tobe and Kahlig follow him in rebounding at 4.7 and 4.1 per game.
"They spread the floor really well, and they kind of play different than what we've seen in the past," said Teagle. "Typically they've been more of a half-court type team and this year they're getting up-and-down the floor a lot more, they look for the three a lot more. ...
"In the past it seemed like they always had at least one player inside that we struggled with because of their strength and their size."
While their 2005-06 seasons were in contrast to each other, the state-line rivals have followed similar paths this year.
The Patriots opened with six straight wins, lost three out of four and have now won five straight.
Fort Recovery started 6-1 and was getting votes in Ohio's Division IV poll, dropped four straight and has now bounced back with three consecutive wins before falling Friday night at St. John's.[[In-content Ad]]
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